Customized for diabetics (and those who dine with them), the newest recipes created by author Angela Shelf Medearis for “The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook: 150 Healthy, Delicious Recipes for Diabetics and Those Who Dine with Them,” strives to make meal planning and cooking for folks with diabetes less of a challenge and more of a pleasure. In truth, Medearis’ recipes are not only good for meeting the needs of prediabetics, those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and women dealing with the diabetic-related complications associated with gestational diabetes, but also for families seeking healthier ways to answer the daily question, “What’s for dinner?”

In the Medearis family, on Sundays after church, dinner likely would be a meal of “Crispy Roasted Chicken,” “Tomato, Squash and Zucchini Gratin,” “Pear and Walnut Salad” and for dessert (oh, yes, there’s dessert), “Pecan-Praline Sweet Potato Pie.” Besides comfort food recipes, woven throughout the book is the unmistaken sense of family, visible via the book’s many familial photographs. One of my favorites is the one of Medearis’ beautiful niece Kendra cutting up food on daughter Dezarae’s dinner plate. It’s an activity we can all relate to because, at one time or another, we do the same for the children in our own lives, hopefully with food as attractive (and healthy) as those prepared by Medearis. If you’re thinking perhaps you could do better at what kind of foods you are offering your children (or yourself), keep in mind that it is never too early, or late, to adopt a healthier life style or to create an environment that makes it easier to embrace. For more information about this title, visit the author’s website at www.divapro.com, your favorite bookseller, or the publisher’s website at www.andrewsmcmeel.com.

2 chickens (3½ to 4 pounds)

½ tablespoon baking powder

Cooking oil spray

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons poultry seasoning

1½ teaspoons salt

1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 small onion, halved

1 lemon, halved

8 sprigs rosemary

4 cloves garlic, smashed

3 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Remove the neck and giblets and any pieces of fat inside the birds. Rinse the birds with cold water inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers. Pat the chickens dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the chicken skin (breast side only) with the baking powder. Place the chickens on a roasting rack in a large baking pan and let them air-dry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Pat the chickens dry with more paper towels. Spray two large baking pans with cooking oil spray. Rub the olive oil all over the chickens. Turn the chickens breast side up, twist the wing tips and tuck them behind the birds. Sprinkle the chickens inside and out with the garlic powder, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Rub the spices inside and on the outside of the birds. Stuff the cavities with the onion, lemon, rosemary, garlic and thyme. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chickens in the upper half of the oven and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes to brown and crisp the skin. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Spray the chickens with the cooking oil spray. Roast the chickens for an additional 35 to 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced with a knife, or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh and not touching the bone registers 165 degrees. Makes 10 servings. Serving Size: 5 ounces light and dark meat with skin; Exchange List Values: 5 medium-fat meat

For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Arrange the greens on eight salad plates. Divide the pears, onion and walnuts among the salads. Drizzle with the dressing and serve. Makes 8 servings. Serving Size: 1 salad; Exchange List Values: 1 fruit, 1½ fat; Carbohydrate Choices: 1; Calories: 118

Toasting Nuts: Toast nuts in a dry, heavy skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until golden brown. Watch closely when using this method, as it’s easy to burn them. Remove from the pan to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or freeze in an airtight freezer container for up to 3 months.

Adjust an oven rack on the bottom shelf. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the filling, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until combined. Spread the filling evenly into the pie crust. To make the pecan topping, whisk the egg and brown sugar blend together in a medium bowl until blended. Add the agave syrup, butter and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the pecans. Spread the pecan topping evenly over the sweet potato filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Makes 1 9-inch pie. Serving Size: 1⁄10 of pie; Exchange List Values: 1½ carbohydrate, 1 starch, 2 fat; Carbohydrate Choices: 2½; Calories: 282

In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of the all-purpose flour, the vinegar and ice water. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ¾ cup of flour, the whole-wheat flour, stevia and salt. Cut in the shortening, using a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Gradually stir in the vinegar mixture 3 tablespoons at a time, mixing gently until just blended. Add more water as needed until the dough forms a sticky ball and no excess flour remains in the bottom of the bowl. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half. Press the halves into disks with the palm of your hand. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. This allows the dough to become less resistant to rolling and for the shortening to become firmer, making the dough easier to handle. Makes two 9-inch pie crusts. Serving Size: 1/10 of 1 crust. Exchange List Values: ½ starch, ½ fat; Carbohydrate Choices: ½; Calories: 85